Through the Fires
by sosayssara
Summary: Hermione received a scarring blow 6 months ago that left her feeling empty and alone. Soon she would realize that not everything was in shambles and maybe, just maybe, she could make it through the fires of hell and back.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione stood balanced as best she could at the top of the ladder. She was attempting to put away their newest shipment before any customers came in, but the angle at which she was perched seemed to be putting her off balance. She felt the ladder wobble underneath her and tried to re-adjust but the attempt was futile and she was falling before she knew what was going on. She closed her eyes and braced for the fall, curling into a foetal position. When no painful impact occurred she opened one of her tightly closed eyes to look down and see a slender fingered hand around her middle. She saw the telltale signet ring, felt her panic rise and closed her eye tightly again.

'Hermione!' She heard Theo's voice as he came running from the back. 'What in the name of Merlin are you doing you crazy witch! I told you I would stock the books when I was done in the back!'

Theo came into view of the scene and let out a sigh of relief that she was not crumpled on the floor. He had heard Hermione's scream from the back and come as quickly as he possibly could. He knew he wouldn't make it in time, just as he should have known she would have climbed that blasted ladder to stock the shelves. Why in Merlin's name did they even have a ladder, they had magic!

'Mr Malfoy! Thank goodness you were here to catch her! Please, put her down over here, I think she may have fainted.'

Hermione was still clenching her eyes shut, afraid to open them. Why had Theo addressed him so formally?

'Certainly Mr Nott, I don't think Miss Granger should be climbing a ladder in her condition.' He laid her on the settee near the fireplace. Once she was down he took a moment to take in the rounded belly she sported along with a glance at his signet ring with a brief look of curiosity.

Once her saviour had spoken, Hermione let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and dared open her eyes, to look at Lucius Malfoy. He was standing over her, along with Theo with concern written on their faces. She sat up and made to stand but was prevented by both men.

'Thank you both, but I am perfectly fine.' She made to stand again as she heard the bell on the door chime that a customer was entering.

'Lucius,' the customer called out into the store, 'are you still in here?'

All three looked towards the doorway as Astoria Malfoy made her way towards the blonde standing near the fireplace.

'I am over here Astoria, please keep your voice down, there is no need to yell.' The annoyance Lucius let out in his words were not lost on Hermione or Theo.

As Astoria made her way towards the small group, Theo reached out instinctively to Hermione and put his arm around her shoulders. This gesture was not lost on Lucius or Astoria.

'Lucius, did you find the book you were looking for? Oh! Well isn't this an unpleasant surprise. Hello Hermione, Theo.'

'Astoria.' was all the response Hermione gave her former friend. Theo's only response was the glare he gave the younger girl.

Astoria took in Hermione's appearance. She hadn't seen her in six months, she chuckled to herself, had it really been that long? The older witch appeared to be glowing, not what Astoria had expected or hoped for. She raked her eyes over the girl and settled on the bump protruding, well that explains it, she thought. She looked at the hand held protectively over the bump and noticed plain gold band on her left ring finger. In looking at the arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders Astoria noticed a similar band adorning Theo's left hand as well.

'Well well Hermione, I see you didn't waste any time recovering from your heartbreak. Did you wait a whole month before getting knocked up by Theo here, or did you run to him that very night?'

Both Hermione and Theo's eyes went wide and she pulled away from his arm like it was on fire. Before she could get out a scathing remark, Lucius interrupted what could have been a very bad argument.

'Let's take our leave Astoria. The book I am looking for is not in stock at the moment.' He turned to Hermione. 'I will owl you Miss Granger so you may order it in for me.'

With that the pair left the store and apparated back to the manor, leaving the pair in the store to try and compose themselves as they prepared for more customers.


	2. Chapter 2

When Lucius and Astoria arrived back at the Manor, Lucius made his way to his private study without even looking at Astoria. He made a mental note to speak to his son about the incident in Flourish and Blots before the end of the night. He would probably bring it up during his meeting later, although he suspected Astoria would be running as fast as her gold digging feet would carry her to find his son. He scoffed. Malfoys do not run.

Astoria sought out her husband as soon as she landed on the grounds. She had a juicy piece of gossip and couldn't wait to gloat about it to the blonde. She found him in his personal study, going over some sort of paperwork at his desk.

'What do you want Astoria?' The blonde looked blankly at his wife of 4 months as she sauntered over and around his chair. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him. It took everything in him to keep from flinching at her touch but he steeled himself.

'Darling,' she drawled in his ear, in what he could only assume she thought to be a sexy manner. 'Your father and I just got back from Diagon Alley.'

'Wow Astoria, thank you for that uninteresting titbit of your day, but if that is all, I have an awful lot to go over here before I meet with my father in an hour.'

'Oh but darling, I have the most wonderful news to share with you! You know that Flourish and Blotts has changed ownership in the last month?

Draco sighed deeply. There was no way he would get Astoria to leave until she finished telling him whatever she came to say.

'Yes?'

'You will never guess who the new owners are!'

'Ugh, just tell me, I am sure I don't even want to guess, and I probably won't care when you tell me.'

'Oh, I think you will care who the new owners are!' Astoria couldn't contain her glee and came around the front of Draco's desk to lean in for dramatic effect. Draco was just thankful she had removed her smarmy self from his person.

'It's Hermione Granger, or should I say a very pregnant Hermione Nott!'

Draco couldn't contain his ire.

'You're lying.'

'Go see for yourself. They are at the store today, looking quite cozy if I do say so.' Astoria was taking great satisfaction in her husband's response. 'It looks like your little mudblood didn't love you as much as you thought.'

Draco was livid, Astoria was wrong, she had to be wrong. He needed to see for himself. He looked at his wife. 'Get out, now!'

Astoria skipped out of his office with a smug look on her face to find Cissa and bring her the joyful news.

Draco left his office and quickly headed for the grounds to apparate. As he walked he passed his father's study.

'Draco, glad to see you out, could you come now?'

'Not now father. I have urgent business but I will be back for our scheduled meeting.'

Lucius was out of his chair and at the door. 'Draco, where are you going?' But the elder Malfoy knew exactly where his son was headed. Damn you Astoria, he thought to himself. You had to run and gloat, didn't you? Blast, he had hoped to speak to Draco before he went running off. He went back to his desk and hoped his son didn't make a bigger mess of the situation.


	3. Chapter 3

'Why didn't you correct her?' Theo looked at his friend, who was still looking towards the door the pair had exited the shop from.

'Hmm?' Hermione was brought out of her thoughts by her friend's voice. 'What was that Theo?'

'I said, why didn't you correct that raging bitch?'

'Ugh, honestly, I just wanted her to leave. I really didn't feel like getting into a huge argument with her right now.'

They both looked up at the sound of the door chiming again.

"Darling!' A familiar red headed wizard made his way over to his spouse with a huge grin on his face.

'Don't you darling me, Weasley. I know where you've been and I will not come near you until you've emptied your pockets of everything that blasted brother of yours has put into them! I don't care if he lost his twin, he will not use your unsuspecting extended family for 'testing'!'

Ron harrumphed and made his way to the back of the shop to deposit all of the goodies George had given him this morning when he popped over to say hi. He returned with the same grin on his face and caught his husband in a warm embrace that became a little heated for Hermione, who coughed to remind them of her presence, and their location.

'If you two need some private time, I am sure I can handle things for a few hours.'

'Not on your life after that stunt you pulled not 30 minutes ago young lady! You will sit behind the till on your arse until we close!' Theo was staring daggers at the brunette, who was returning the stare as good as she got. She hated when he referred to her as young lady, he was literally days older that she. Their game of chicken was interrupted by her longtime friend.

'What stunt?' Ron looked between the two until Hermione turned to him with a slight blush on her cheeks.

'The daft bint climbed a ladder and proceeded to fall off of it!'

Ron was angry, Hermione could see the colour rise in his neck. She had the decency to look a little ashamed.

'You're a bloody witch Hermione! What in Merlin's name were you doing on a ladder, 6 months pregnant?'

'Theo was busy...' At her response Ron turned his glare to the taller man standing to his left.

'Don't give me that look, I told her to come out here and stock what she could, how was I to know she would get all muggle on me?'

All at once Ron realized that Theo had said Hermione fell off the ladder. His face softened as he turned to her.

'Hermione, sit down, are you hurt? Are you in pain? We should take you to St Mungos immediately.'

'Stop fussing over me now!' She could barely contain her ire, why did everyone think she was so fragile!

'Umm, well, she did fall, but Malfoy caught her.' Theo's sentence brought Ron's rage back ten fold.

'You let that snaky ferret touch her?'

'It was Lucius Ron, not Draco.' Hermione winced at the mention of his name. It was the first time in months anyone had dared say it in her presence.

'And Astoria.' She added.

'Bloody hell!' Ron had taken to pacing in front of the pair. 'That was quicker than I expected. But I suppose you took that into consideration before signing the deal.'

'How long do you think before she goes running to him to tattle?' Theo looked at Hermione directly.

'Why on earth would she want him to know Hermione is back in England?' Ron looked between the two a little confused. 'I thought she was delighted when you left for Italy right after, you know, everything?'

'Ah, yes, well, Hermione, maybe you should explain what Astoria would be so excited to tell the big D about?' Theo looked at her expectantly.

'Well that's probably because she thinks Theo here knocked me up and that we are married.' Hermione finished her sentence and ran to the office in the back before Ron could freak out. He took a few deep breaths and turned to his husband.

'Why on earth would Lucius and Astoria think you and Hermione were married?'

'Well after Lucius caught Hermione and put her down, I was comforting her. This is when Astoria came in looking for Lucius. She saw the ring Hermione wears and my ring, which happens to be very similar and put two and orange together and came out with a hippogriff.' Theo was hoping this didn't send Ron into one of his trademark rages. Not that he didn't love these rages; they were damn hot, but it would be completely unproductive at the moment.

Ron was quiet for a few moments as he took in Theo's words. 'I told you that bloody ring was too much like Hermione's!'

Theo was confused, was that really what Ron was focusing on in this current situation? Alright. He made his way closer to his husband and put his arms around his neck.

'And I told you I thought the ring she had picked out was beautiful, which was why you went and had them make it in a more manly size for me, my love.'

Just as they were headed for another heated embrace, the door banged open, overshadowing the gentle chime all together. Framed in the doorway was what Ron could only describe as a very angry looking snaky ferret on a warpath.

'Where is she?'


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione wasn't sure how long she could stay in the office before going out to face Ron. She hoped that Theo could calm him down enough to drop this all for now. She knew she would see the Malfoys when she returned to England, but she had hoped she could keep contact as minimal as possible. Hermione sat at the desk and turned the ring on her finger around and around before taking it off to look at the scar that ran all the way around her finger. She tried not to ever look at it, it was a reminder of a time she never thought she could be happier and also a reminder of a time she never thought she would recover from the pain. She had seen a number of healers, but none could remove the scar. It seemed as though it stemmed from the use of dark blood magic and they were baffled by its presence. She was brought back from her thoughts by the shouting coming from the front of the store. She slipped the ring back on her finger as she headed towards the voices, one of which she would recognize for the rest of her life.

'I have asked you to tell me where she is Weasley, please do not make me force the information out of you!'

'And I have told you, there is no way in hell I will let you anywhere near Hermione ever again!'

'Ronald!' Hermione was behind her two friends when she shouted his name. 'It is fine, we are in a public place, why don't you and Theo go get the rest of the new stock from the back while I assist Mr Malfoy here.'

Draco took in Hermione's appearance as she spoke to her friend and her husband. He noticed the ring on Theo's hand as he was arguing with the two men, before Hermione came out from the back. He looked at her finger now and saw that the ring she wore was almost identical. What the hell? He thought to himself. He then took in her slightly rounded belly and a wave of jealousy he could not contain hit him.

'I see Astoria was not lying to me, for once.' He sneered at Hermione. 'Did you wait a courteous amount of time before hopping into bed with Theo, or did you go to him right after I left your flat?'

Hermione looked pained by his expression and words, but she steeled herself as she began to speak to him.

'I don't think that is any of your business Mr Malfoy.' She looked him directly in those mercury eyes she had grown to love so deeply. His obvious disdain for her was present in their depths.

'Did you ever love me?' His question was barely audible. She could see the look in his eyes changing to that of hurt, for the briefest of moments, before the anger returned.

Hermione wanted to go to him, hug and kiss him, tell him everything was ok. She wasn't sure she would ever love another man with the depth that she loved him. She wanted to tell him everything, but she knew that it wouldn't change things, and it was better that he hated her, maybe that would make him stay away. She wasn't sure if her resolve could be kept if she spent too much time with him, she also wasn't sure if her heart could take seeing him with Astoria. She placed a protective hand over her belly, a motion that was not lost on Draco.

'I am not even going to honour that with a response, I'm sure your _wife_ would not want you speaking to other women this way.'

'I don't want to speak about _her_, this is about us, and Nott apparently.'

'There is no us, Draco. There was no us as of 6 months ago.'

'You just left! No word, no explanation, just disappeared. It was only Potter's pity that even let out that you were in Italy!'

'Draco, you were marrying another woman, what would you have me do? I was in a lot of pain, I needed to find comfort.'

'I see you found that in Nott! Not too long after everything that happened either by the looks of you.' Draco spat the words at Hermione.

'I don't have to listen to your verbal lashings Draco, if you have nothing more productive to say to me, just leave!'

'I can't believe I ever loved you.' With that he turned and left the store.

Hermione flopped down on the settee near the fireplace feeling more defeated than she did 6 months ago. She rubbed her belly absently and looked down at it, 'Oh peanut, was this really the best idea, coming back here, back to all of this? No good can come from this complicated situation.'


	5. Chapter 5

When Draco returned to the manor he couldn't decide how he felt. There were so many conflicting emotions running through him. He was angry and hurt and confused. They had promised to love one another forever; he had expected to spend the rest of his life with the fiery witch. He thought back to just over 6 months ago and how he was happier that he thought he could ever be, happier than he thought he would ever be allowed to feel. Well his mother had made damn sure that he would never be happy again. He had always thought it was his father pushing the blood purity hard and that he was the one spear-heading the Malfoy clan. He had been dead wrong. While Lucius had bought into the blood purity as he had been raised, it had been his mother who blindly supported that lunatic and had coerced his father with her 'love' into following Riddle into the abyss. Love, he scoffed at the thought, he doubted a pureblood family had even entertained the idea in hundreds of years. Not the kind of love he had yearned for. The all consuming, passionate love that made you ache for each other's company. He had envied Potter, that's right, envied the Boy-Who-Lived; he had envied the love he shared with the youngest Weasley. He had gone to his mother after the first war memorial with his hopes and he recalled her response to him with great clarity.

_She scoffed at him. 'Don't be ridiculous Draco! You are a Malfoy, you are the product of the two finest and oldest families in the wizarding world! You will marry a beautiful, pureblood witch and grow to love her, just as I have grown to love your father.'_

_'But mother...'_

_'No Draco.' she interrupted him with a stern glare. 'You will forget this nonsense. There are no such things as soul mates. You will marry before your 21st birthday and carry on the Malfoy line. I will not hear another word about this. Leave me, I have suddenly gotten a headache.'_

_Draco looked at his mother with wide eyes. She had never so readily dismissed him, or his conversations in the past._

_He left her room feeling confused and worried. Twenty one? That was so far, yet so close. He made the decision that day to get out and get some life experiences before he was tied down to a wife and family. He spoke to his father that evening and obtained his full support. Draco would be given a year to do as he pleased before he was required to return home and learn the family business and search for a bride. He would have full access to any amount of money, no questions asked, but he had to return, one year from today ready to become a responsible, contributing member to wizarding society._

_Draco didn't know what to do with this freedom first. One year seemed like such a long period of time, but when he thought about what he wanted to do, he realized it was very short. He wanted to see the world, to experience everything, see all of the wonders, muggle and wizard, but he also wanted to relax. He had spent the greater part of the last seven years on edge, agitated and living in fear. He kind of wanted to do absolutely nothing for once in his life. After some great deliberation, he decided on spending some time relaxing on the Amalfi coast. It would satisfy his want to travel and his need to relax and he could spend some time deciding what his next move would be. He wasted no time owling his good friend Blaise Zabini to see if he was interested in joining him for some relaxing, not to mention Blaise's fluent Italian would come in handy._

_In less than a week Draco found himself basking in the Italian sunshine and cramming his hours with nothing but beaches and reading._

_'Draco, you need to put that book down and check out the talent all around us.' Blaise was very much enjoying his time in Italy. The parade of beautiful women eating breakfast with them had started the day after they arrived and Draco guessed it would continue for the duration of their stay. He dropped his book to the side and looked around the beach area. Blaise was not wrong, there were certainly a large number of beautiful women lounging and wandering around the beach, but Draco wasn't very interested in spending his beloved year doing anything but what he really wanted._

_'I hear you Blaise, I just haven't seen anyone who blows me away.'_

_'Are you still on that man?' Blaise looked at Draco over the lenses of his sunglasses. 'I think you just need to get laid, and soon. I don't think I have ever felt as relaxed as I have these past few days.'_

_'We only just got here, I'm in no rush at the moment.' Draco took one more look around the beach while picking up his book again. He was stopped in his motions almost instantly by the ethereal sight of a gorgeous woman coming out of the ocean. From the angle Draco was sitting, her form was haloed by the sunshine and he couldn't see her face. His eyes started at her legs and lingered as he watched the water droplets run down the tanned expanse. As his eyes moved up past the coral coloured bikini bottoms, his mind played visions of that water being sweat as she writhed underneath his prone form. The droplets rolled over pert breasts, also encased in coral, and down her taut stomach. His heart beat faster as blood rushed south. He couldn't take is eyes off her body and he stood up unconsciously, dropping the book he held._

_'All I am saying is you might feel more relaxed if you just spent a little time with someone. If you want I can help you find someone to distract...Draco?...Draco?...are you listening to me?' Blaise watched as his friend walked away towards a brunette. She was walking towards a red head sitting about ten yards in front of them._

_'Never mind, looks like you've found something to distract yourself.' Blaise chuckled to himself. 'Now I need to find my own distraction.'_


	6. Chapter 6

Draco felt drawn to the beautiful witch in front of him, so much so that the rest of the people on the beach seemed to fade away. He arrived in front of her as she was bending to pick up her towel. She stood while wiping the water from her face.

'Oi! You're standing on my towel!'

Draco was brought out of his trance by the loud yelling coming from the man whose towel he was obviously standing on top of. He looked down to step away and apologize.

'I'm terribly sorry...Weasley?'

'Malfoy?' The red-head returned the confused look that was displayed on Draco's face.

Draco looked up at his coral clad beauty standing before him. 'Granger?'

'The one and only, Draco. I should think after everything we have all been through, you could call me by my given name?'

'Umm, I suppose so. Hermione.' Draco tested her name out for what he thought may have been the first time ever. 'What on earth are you doing in Italy?'

'Oh, you know, relaxing, taking in some culture. Generally getting away from the dreary London life. I could say the same to you?'

'Practically the same I suppose. How long are you in town for?' Why did he ask her that? Why did he care? This was Gryffindor Princess Hermione Granger.

'Just over a week. Ron and I arrived yesterday.' Hermione gestured to the man whose towel Draco had trod on. They nodded to each other and Draco turned his attention back to Hermione. He couldn't figure out why but he really wanted her to keep talking to him, but he honestly didn't know what to say to the girl. They didn't exactly have the greatest past, and other than knowing she liked to read, he was a bit stumped. He looked around at their surroundings and noticed a battered copy of War and Peace lying near her towel.

'Brought some light reading with you?'

'Pardon?'

'I see you've brought some light reading with you.' Draco gestured to the book lying near her towel.

'Oh! Yes, I've read it a dozen times already, it's an old favourite. Why do you ask?'

'No particular reason. I was just recalling how appalled Blaise was when I brought the same book down to breakfast the other day.'

'You're reading War and Peace? Forgive me for being ignorant, but you know Tolstoy was a muggle, right?'

'Why Hermione, I am offended by your insinuation that I would not read a classic simply because it was not written by a wizard.' Draco brought a hand to his heart in mock indignation to the brunette's insult. 'I feel like you owe me a drink this evening for your insulting manner.'

Hermione smiled at the blonde's joke. She looked into his eyes, searching for the truth in his request. 'I think that can be arranged, give me your address and I will stop by after supper.'

Draco returned to his lounger with a smile on his face to find Blaise had disappeared to find his own entertainment for the evening.

Their drink that evening had resulted in staying up all night, swapping stories and discussing anything they could think of. As the sun rose Draco couldn't believe how much he and the amber eyed witch had in common and how much time he had wasted on hurling insults. He wasn't sure they would ever run out of things to talk about or that he would find a better intellectual equal.

So that was it, the unconventional pair were inseparable for the remainder of Hermione's vacation, which wasn't long enough for Draco. They spent their days soaking in the culture and the sunshine and their nights learning every inch of one another's body.

Draco spent two hours moping after her departure from Italy before he made the brash decision to go back to the UK. He purchased a flat in the same neighbourhood as Hermione with the intention of making it his home base for his worldly travels. He surprised her at her flat later that evening with flowers and takeout, both of which were abandoned on her dining room table as the tore each other's clothes off to reacquaint themselves after their eight hour break.

Draco never made it around the world, he barely allowed Hermione to make it out of her flat daily.

On the eve of his scheduled return to reality, Draco gave Hermione his grandmother's ring in a grand proposal. He couldn't imagine his life without the beautiful witch and knew his parents would start asking him as soon as he returned to the manor to find a wife. He was interested in seeing the look on his parents' faces when he announced to them he had already found a bride and who it was.

What Draco didn't know was that his parents also had a surprise for him that would change everything.


	7. Chapter 7

Draco returned from his trip to the manor with a heavy heart and two additional people. They flooed into Hermione's flat with Draco arriving first. Hermione ran to him to hug him but stopped short as she saw the crestfallen look on his face.

'What is it? What's wrong darling?' Hermione approached him to grab his hands but he pulled away. Before Hermione could question him further the fireplace flared and two more people arrived in her flat.

She looked up to see Narcissa Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass. Hermione was surprised to see both witches coming in after her fiancé.

'Tori?' Hermione looked at the young woman standing near the fireplace. 'What are you doing here? Did we have plans for today? I have totally forgotten to put it in my calendar if we did.'

'No!' Astoria sneered at Hermione. 'Why on earth would I have made plans with you?'

Hermione stared at the witch standing opposite her for in shock. She was very confused. She had just seen the younger witch the other day when she went for lunch with her and her sister, Daphne. She looked over at Narcissa Malfoy to see that she was eyeing Hermione's flat with an air of disdain.

'Is this where you have been hiding for the past year Draco?' Narcissa addressed her son, who stood off to the side looking like someone had just Avada'd his familiar.

'Yes, mother' was the only answer the blonde gave. He would not look Hermione in the eye, and she was starting to notice the tension in the room.

'Well go and gather your belongings, although I can't possible imagine what you could have here that is of any value.' With the last part, Narcissa looked directly at Hermione.

'Look here Mrs. Malfoy, you have no right to speak to me in such a rude manner!'

'I wasn't speaking to you, you filthy...'

Hermione had her wand drawn before Narcissa Malfoy could finish her sentence. She turned to her fiancé with questioning eyes 'Draco, what is going on here?'

'Nothing you need trifle yourself with Miss Granger. Draco has just come to remove his things for his return to the manor and preparation for his wedding.' Narcissa answered before Draco could even think of what to tell Hermione.

'I am sure that Draco can stay here while we make plans for our wedding.' She looked at the older witch with indignation.

'Well you see that wouldn't be appropriate for Draco to reside with anyone that is not his fiancé, don't you think?'

'Excuse me?' Hermione looked between Narcissa and Draco with wide eyes, the latter still not able to make eye contact with her. 'I am fairly certain that this ring says otherwise!' Hermione held up her left hand to show Narcissa.

'Yes, there is the matter of that.' Narcissa handed Hermione a scroll of parchment. 'I think you will find all of your answers in here.'

Hermione unrolled the parchment and began to read through what was appearing to be a marriage contract between Draco and Astoria. Her eyes grew wide as she looked up part way through at Draco. 'Did you know about this?'

'I swear to you I did not.' It was the first words the blonde had spoken since arriving at the flat and it took everything to contain his anger and sadness over what was transpiring.

Hermione continued to read and as she did she felt her finger tingle, as she got the bottom a flash of blinding pain hit her. She dropped the parchment and cried out before dropping to her knees clutching her left hand.

Draco ran to Hermione. 'What have you done, Mother?'

'I have done nothing. The contract is embedded with a quid mei curse.'

'Are you fucking kidding me? That's dark blood magic you crazy bitch.'

Narcissa drew her wand and pointed it at her son. 'Do not speak to me in that manner. Do not think I will hesitate to punish you for this, this ridiculous charade you've been playing at!' Narcissa gestured at the flat and Hermione. 'We have obtained what we came for. Let's go home, now!' With that Narcissa turned to Astoria, who had been spending the last few minutes ogling the ring that was now on her left hand. Narcissa's loud announcement of their exit startled the girl, but she nodded and followed the older witch.

Narcissa turned back to Draco. 'If I don't see you come through that fireplace in 10 minutes, I will return for you and you will be punished for your insubordination.' With that she called out the manor and walked through the floo. Astoria gave Hermione a sneer before also calling out the manor and making her exit.

Draco turned back to Hermione who was still clutching her hand to her chest.

'Hermione, I...I..I'm so sorry.'

'Don't.'

'No, please let me look at your hand.' Draco tried to pry her hand from her chest, but she was stronger than she looked.

'Just go Draco.' She looked up into his eyes, those beautiful mercury eyes. She could see the pain reflected in them, both for her physical injury and for the details outlined in the contract. She had never seen one so thorough before, but then again she didn't have a lot of experience with marriage contracts. This one seemed to cover everything from infidelity, proximity and the production of an heir. She knew the first thought in his head was to run away, but if he had read the contract, he knew that prolonged absence from his betrothed would bring death.

Draco didn't even know where to begin explaining to Hermione what had transpired at the manor. He had been on cloud nine when he had flooed to his parents' house this morning to speak with them and deliver his news. He was met, on his entrance by his mother and Mrs Greengrass, along with Astoria. His mother hadn't even let him explain himself before forcing him to read the contract and therefore activating the betrothal. He had cursed a number of objects in the room before turning to his mother who just stood by with smirk on her face as she explained she had heard he had removed his grandmother's ring from the family vaults and wanted to ensure it was put on the correct witch's finger. Draco was furious and wanted to know where his father was, to which his mother explained that he was away on business until later that afternoon, and that these arrangements were always looked after by the matriarch. He read and re-read the contract and its specific intricacies and could find no way out of it. He would have to marry the Greengrass twit or literally suffer death. What the fuck, what century were they living in? Had they not just spent seven years in a war to abolish this very thing?

Draco looked at the beautiful witch in front of him, wincing in pain. All he wanted to do was comfort her and take away all of her heartache, but he knew that could never be now, thanks to his prejudiced mother and the dreams of a young witch too stupid to realize what this all meant.

'Please Hermione, just know that I will always love you, no matter what, even through this ridiculous contract. You have made me a better person and opened my eyes to things I could only imagine before. I will do everything in my power to reverse this fucking garbage.'

'I love you too Draco, but please, just go, I just, please.' Hermione looked up to watch the love of her life walk out. Her heart shattering into tiny pieces as he made his way to her floo. Just before he called out the manor, Draco summoned his patronus, an eagle, and sent it off.

* * *

Ron was roused from his post coital bliss by the appearance of an eagle patronus. All it said to him was 'Go to Hermione.' Ron sat straight up and nudged the man sleeping next to him before throwing his legs over the side of the bed to begin dressing.

'Merlin Ron, are you seriously ready for more? You are insatiable!'

'Shut it Nott! Draco's patronus just burst in here telling me to go to Hermione, get dressed!'

Theo shot up and began to dress. They were both at Hermione's flat within minutes.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione felt like she couldn't breathe, the pain in her hand was nearly unbearable, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart. In less than 24 hours she had gone from being the happiest she had ever been to the deepest pit she couldn't possibly get out of. She just wanted to crawl into a hole and drown in her sorrow. How could so much strife be a part of her life? How was it that she was destined to be ridiculed still, even after the war? Just as she was sobbing to herself, her floo flared and Ron rushed through, wand drawn, followed quickly by Theo.

'Hermione!' Ron ran to her side and immediately pulled Hermione onto his lap. As he cradled her and stroked her hair and back, Theo had his wand at the ready as he made sure the threat was no longer there.

'No one is here.' Theo returned and gave Ron his update.

'Thank you.' He gave his lover a weak smile and motioned for him to go into the kitchen. As Ron watched Theo go, he took deep breaths before attmepting to speak to the witch in his arms.

'Hermione, what's going on here. I came as fast as i could after Draco's patronis told me to come to you.' At the mention of the blonde's name, Hermione sobbed uncontrollably.

'What did that arsehole do? I will kill him you know!'

'He, he, he. Proposed!' Hermione looked up at Ron a the last of her statement and colapsed into sobs again.

'Well I'm confused, shouldn't you be happy about that? I just saw you last week and you were practically glowing you were so happy.'

Ron tilted Hermione's chin up so she would look at him. It took her a moment to compose herself to speak.

'I would be happy, if he didn't have a marriage contract, with another witch, and a quid mei curse!' At this Hermione allowed Ron to see her left hand and the mess it was currently in.

Ron was livid, he wanted to go and castrate the ferret before flaying him. He was wary of the Slytherin from the outset, but his attitude and the way he treated Hermione had put him at ease over the past year so much so that he had come to trust the wizard nearly as much as he trusted Hermione herself.

'What the fuck! Hermione, we need to get you to St Mungo's!' Ron gathered the witch in his arms and headed for the floo. 'Theo! I'm taking Hermione to Mungo's, can you go to Harry's to let him know what's going on?'

'Absolutely, do you want me to tell him everything?'

'I think that would be best.' Ron nodded as he tossed the powder and called out the hospital. Theo followed, but calling out the Potter residence instead.

* * *

Ron carried Hermione directly up to the curses wing of the hospital, this was no matter to be dealt with in the emergency wing. He came upon a nurse as soon as he entered the floor and called to her.

'You, there! Help me, my friend has been cursed!'

'My goodness sir, please, bring her over here.' The nurse motioned for Ron to put Hermione down in room to her right. 'I will just go get a healer to take a look at your friend.' The nurse headed out, but turned back to Ron. 'Do you know what curse she has been hit with, I would like to tell the healer before she gets here.'

'Quid Mei.' The look on the nurse's face said more than her words ever could have. Ron could vaguely recall learning of the Quid Mei curse being used on items of your belonging that you did not want going missing or being stolen. He also recalled his mother talking about old wizarding families using the curse to guarantee fidelity and the production of a legitimate heir. He thought those were old wives tales though, who would possibly use the curse now, especially after the war?

The healer arrived very quickly and set to work diagnosing Hermione. Ron saw as she cast a number of spells over his friend and whispered incantations that were barely audible. Hermione's body glowed different colours too fast for Ron to even think what they were. The nurse came up to him as he stared at his friend, who now seemed so pale and small laying on the bed in front of the healer.

'Sir? Sir?' Ron looked down at the nurse speaking to him. 'Are you Miss?...'

'Granger'

'Miss Granger's spouse?'

'Hmm?'

'Are you Miss Granger's spouse, her next of kin?'

'Oh, no! I'm Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger's best friend.' When Ron said his name and Hermione's together, he saw the flash of recognition in the nurse's face, if that wasn't enough, a very distraught, very disheveled looking Harry Potter burst into the room.

'Where is she? Is she ok? Someone speak to me!' Harry spotted Ron and the nurse and came up to the pair, embracing his red-headed friend with deep affection before pulling back.

'Ron, tell me she is ok!'

'I, I don't know Harry. I just brought her in here, the healer has only been here maybe 5 min.'

Harry looked over at his beloved friend laying on the bed, then down at her hand that was a bloody mess.

'What have they done to her?'

'It was a Quid Mei curse.'

It took Harry a moment to run through the curses in his brain to identify, but when he did his eyes widened.

'Who the fuck would use that?'

'Guess.'

'I am going to kill that fucking ferret. I was just starting to really like him as well. That's a shame.'

The healer approached the pair as they were conversing and cleared her throat.

'Excuse me gentlemen, could I speak to you outside?'

'Yes, healer...' Harry looked at the badge the healer wore. 'Bulstrode, can you tell us anything?'

She nodded and ushered the pair out of the room.

'I am going to be a little candid with you about Miss Granger's health, although I will not disclose everything to you as neither of you are her relatives or spouses.'

Both Harry and Ron nodded.

'Miss Granger is stable at the moment, I have given her a potion to allow her to relax and sleep. She is in a great deal of pain and her body can only handle so much. I have closed the wound on her hand, but I am unable to heal the scar, this tells me a great deal, and concerns me a great deal as well.'

Neither Ron or Harry were the studious kind, so they had little knowledge of the curse, beyond its bare description. Their confused looks prompted Healer Bulstrode to continue with her explanation.

'The curse has been cast with blood magic, I can't imagine who would have cast such a charm, nor why, but it has been done, and I have countered the base curse, but unfortunately blood magic is much more complex and volatile. There are so many factors in its accuracy, potency and lasting effects that simply can not be determined. it is part of the reason that it has been banned for many years.'

Ron and Harry were still speachless. Who could have done this and why would they?

'I know this is a lot of information to take in at the moment. I will let you know that Hermione will be asleep for atleast 8 hours, so you should get some rest. I will need to speak to her when she wakes and I am sure you both have questions for her as well. Good night gentlemen.' With that Healer Bulstrode turned and headed back towards the desk to begin her report.

Ron and Harry slipped into their friend's room to kiss her quickly on the forehead.

'We'll be back in the morning Mione.' Harry whispered in her ear as he grasped her hand. He needed to know what was happening before he went to Wiltshire tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione felt like she had spent the night drinking. Maybe that's why she felt like garbage, she had been out chugging back firewhiskey and all of the events that were groggily making their way into her conscious were just an hallucination. As she opened one eye and then the other, she took in her surroundings. White walls, single chair pushed up against the side wall, the place looked familiar but her mind didn't want to focus enough to concentrate. The door across from her opened and a friendly looking woman in green Healer robes came in. Ahh, that must me it, she was at St Mungo's. How on earth did she get here? She recalled Ron and Theo coming in to her flat last night and her speaking to Ron briefly, but everything else was murky.

'Good morning Miss Granger.'

Hermione looked at the badge on the robes of the woman in front of her, it read Bulstrode.

'Millicent?'

'Yes, we went to Hogwarts together.' The woman gave Hermione a a warm smile.

'Well then, please call me Hermione.'

'Very well, Hermione. How are you feeling?'

'Groggy, my brain feels like it's full of cotton.'

'Yes, I am afraid that is part of the potion we gave you to sedate and alleviate the pain. You should feel better after some food.'

'Ok, thank you.' Hermione looked down at her left hand for the first time and felt an ache in her heart. There was an ugly scar that travelled around her finger as she noticed, turning her hand over.

'Yes, I am afraid there isn't much I can do about that. You are aware you were hit with a Quid Mei curse?'

Hermione nodded, still looking at her hand.

'The curse was also laced with blood magic.'

This brought Hermione out of her daze, her head shot up and looked Millicent in the eye. 'Dark blood magic.' Hermione recalled Draco yelling at his mother before they all left her flat

'Yes, dark blood magic. Something that has been banned by the ministry for some time now. I have reversed the effects of the curse itself, but with the addition of the blood magic, I am afraid your scar could be something you carry for life.'

'Thank you Millicent, I am familiar with the effects of blood magic.' Hermione turned her arm over to reveal the letters carved on her forearm.

'Yes, I see, well Hermione there is something else that I needed to speak to you about in regards to the results of your scan. I'm not sure how else to tell you, but the scans showed you are pregnant. Not very far along, perhaps about 4 weeks.'

Hermione opened her mouth to speak but no words came to her. Her hand reached to her stomach as she processed the news Millicent had just passed on to her.

'That's impossible.'

'Are you sexually active Hermione?'

'Excuse me?'

'It's a simple question, if you are sexually active, becoming pregnant is always a possibility.'

'Right, well, has the, you know, fetus been affected by the curse?' Hermione didin't know why, but this thought troubled her.

'No, thankfully. The curse had not spread past your arm when Mr Weasley brought you in.' Millicent sat on the edge of Hermione's bed. 'I have administered the counter curse, but I am going to be completely honest with you, no one can say for sure the effects of the blood magic. It's volatility is part of the reason it was banned. I can tell you now your energy levels are low, which in turn means your magic is weak as well. You need to take some time off to recouperate.'

'Are you sure?'

'Oh yes, there were still traces of the blood magic in you when you came in.'

'Not about the curse, about the pregnancy?'

'Oh, yes, that. Yes, but I can perform the scan again now that you are conscious so you can see.'

'No, that won't be necessary, I believe you. I simply can't take the time off though.'

'I am sorry Hermione, Healer's orders, if you don't take the time to rest now, you may never fully recouperate. I will be giving you a prescription as well as a note to have you off for at least 6 weeks. I want you to take the potions I am giving you and come back in 6 weeks for further scans. As far as the pregnancy, I can refer you to obstetrics so you can set everything up with them.'

'Thank you Millicent, you have done a great job.'

'Just listen to your body and only do what you feel you can.' Millicent patted Hermione's leg and with that she got up and headed out of the room, leaving Hermione to think about everything she had just been told. She absentmindedly stroked her currently flat stomach as she tried to figure out what she would do for 6 weeks.

* * *

Ron and Harry arrived moments after Millicent left the room. The both quickly strode across to embrace their friend warmly.

'Oh Mione, I am so glad to see you awake!' Harry was so relieved that Hermione was conscious now. 'Can you tell us anything?'

'Well it seems that there was blood magic, in addition to the Quid Mei curse.'

'I am getting the feeling that a ferret is going to be skinned alive today.' Ron started pacing the room as he spoke.

'Please, don't.' Both men stared at Hermione in shock.

'You can't possibly be thinking of allowing Malfoy to live after all of this.' Ron gestured to Hermione's hand.

'Hermione, he deserves to be tried for the use of a banned magic. You can't possibly be thinking of letting him go free.' Harry may have been the less vengeful friend, but he wasn't above serving justice.

'That is exactly what I am intending to do, let him go.' Hermione looked away quickly as tears surfaced. She took a few deep breaths before continuing. 'Besides, Draco had nothing to do with the curse, he is as much a victim as I am. There is nothing that can be done. The curse is like an unbreakable vow, if he does not follow through with the marriage and provide an heir, they will both die. I will not have his blood on my hands.'

'I don't have a problem having his blood on my hands.' Ron muttered loudly.

'You aren't helping Ron!' Harry could not believe Hermione was giving up. 'Mione, are you sure?

'Yes, please. I just want to put this behind me. Now will you both sit, we need to talk. Millicent found something else in her scans and I am going to need your full support.'

Ron and Harry sat on either side of Hermione's feet.

'What is it Mione? Is everything ok?' Harry was running through every scenario in his head, fearing the worst.

'I don't know that I would call everything ok, but take a deep breath Harry, I am pregnant, not dying.'


End file.
